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November 11, 2025 Climate and environment

Shifting to sustainable cooling methods could be key to protecting people and the planet from the effects of rising heat. Technologies such as passive, energy-efficient, and hybrid cooling with minimal energy consumption could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save up to $43 trillion, and protect 3 billion people from extreme temperatures, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) presented at UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil.

According to the report, if current trends continue, demand for cooling could triple by 2050. As a result, emissions in this sector will nearly double compared to 2022, reaching 7.2 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. This is due to population growth, the continued spread of extreme temperatures, and the adoption of inefficient and polluting cooling systems among the world's poorest people.

Trillions of dollars in savings

UNEP proposes a so-called "Sustainable Cooling Pathway" that would reduce future emissions by 64 percent—to 2.6 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent—compared to projected 2050 levels. With a simultaneous rapid transition to clean energy, emissions could be reduced by 97 percent.

"Access to cooling must be considered a component of basic infrastructure, along with water, energy, and sanitation," emphasized UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. "We can't solve the problem with air conditioning—it will only exacerbate the crisis. Passive, energy-efficient, and natural solutions will protect people, food chains, and economies from heat."

Experts estimate that implementing the proposed path will save $17 trillion in energy costs and avoid investments in energy grids totaling up to $26 trillion by 2050.

Key measures include the use of passive cooling, the rapid introduction of energy-efficient equipment, the elimination of freons, and the development of green urban spaces.

Let's beat the heat

These recommendations form the basis of the "Beat the Heat" initiative (Mutirão Contra o Calor Extremo / Beat the Heat), led by Brazil, the COP30 presidency, and the UNEP Cooling Coalition. It has already been joined by 185 cities and 83 partners, including 72 signatory countries. Global Cooling Commitment.

By mid-2025, 29 countries have adopted specific targets to reduce emissions in the refrigeration sector, with five more in the process of being developed. A total of 134 countries have included refrigeration measures in their national climate strategies, but only 54 cover all key areas—from energy efficiency standards to the transition to environmentally friendly refrigerants.

The largest gaps remain in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, where cooling demand is growing fastest.

UNEP calls on countries to move from emergency response to systemic heat risk management, to consider cooling as a public good, and to develop nature-based solutions – from green architecture to sustainable urban planning.

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November 11, 2025 Women

In war-torn Sudan, women are the first to suffer from hunger and violence, UN Women warns, citing its sources in the country.

“Women we spoke to in El Fasher, the epicenter of Sudan’s current catastrophe, described surviving hunger, displacement, rape, and bombing,” said Anna Mutawati, UN Women’s regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, at a briefing in Geneva. “Pregnant women gave birth in the streets as the last functioning maternity hospitals were looted and destroyed.”

Militants from the so-called Rapid Intervention Forces captured El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, after more than 500 days of siege, in late October. Immediately after, reports of mass atrocities began to emerge, including extrajudicial killings and sexual violence.

A brief history of the conflict

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and a group calling itself the Rapid Intervention Forces (RIF) began in April 2023 after the collapse of the transition to civilian rule that was expected to follow the ouster of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Fierce fighting has forced millions of people to flee their homes and worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis.

Let us also recall that in 2008, the UN Security Council recognized that conflict-related rape and other forms of sexual violence may qualify as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and elements of genocide.

According to Anna Mutawati, the situation is rapidly deteriorating as the fighting around El Fasher expands, causing mass displacement. Thousands of women and girls have fled to other areas of North Darfur, where humanitarian presence is extremely limited.

On Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that nearly 89,000 people had fled the region. Many of them are now at the border with Chad.

"Women report that throughout this horrific journey, every step toward a water source, to collect firewood, or to queue for food carries a high risk of sexual violence," said a UN Women representative. "Evidence is mounting that rape is being used deliberately and systematically as a weapon of war."

In search of safety

Anna Mutawati says there are no safe spaces left in Sudan where women can find protection or basic psychological support. In North Darfur, a pack of sanitary pads costs about $27, while the average monthly humanitarian aid for a family of six is less than $150. Families are forced to make difficult choices "between food, medicine, and maintaining their dignity."

"Women and girls' basic needs are at the bottom of the list," Mutawati said. In Sudan, she said, women and girls eat "the least and the last."

“The majority of women and girls in Sudan are starving… Women often give up food to feed their children, and adolescents receive the smallest portions, which undermines their long-term health,” she noted.

“In besieged and remote areas like Darfur or Kordofan, it is women and girls who are forced to forage for food to survive,” Mutawati added, citing reports of women “picking leaves and berries to make soup,” while facing additional risks of violence.

Hunger is getting worse

The latest UN food security assessment, conducted in early November, confirmed famine in El Fasher and the capital of South Kordofan, Kadugli. Medical professionals are recording an increase in cases of acute malnutrition among infants, often associated with starving mothers losing their ability to breastfeed.

"The hunger women experience is causing a chain reaction," warned Anna Mutawati. "Every day the world delays action on Sudan, another woman gives birth under fire, buries a child who died of starvation, or disappears without a trace."

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November 10, 2025 Climate and environment

The 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) opened in Belém, Brazil, on Monday. Delegates arrived at the forum with a clear message: the era of half-measures is over. The climate crisis is already here, causing widespread destruction and increasing economic costs. But there is a solution: clean energy is developing, and international cooperation can still reverse this negative trajectory.

Opening the conference, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for decisive action: "The moment has come when our capabilities must match the urgency of the challenges we face. We must finally overcome climate crisis denial and maintain the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal."

Simon Still, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), emphasized that the task of participants is not to argue with each other, but to unite against the climate crisis.

Cautious optimism and new commitments

The first day of the conference was marked by cautious optimism: the number of countries that submitted new climate plans reached 113. Together, they account for almost 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. According to a preliminary assessment by the UNFCCC, by 2035, these countries' commitments will help reduce emissions by 12 percent, although this is not enough to guarantee the achievement of the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Simon Still noted that the commitments made at previous conferences are beginning to yield results—the global emissions curve has begun to decline. He cited Belén as an inspiring example: "The Amazon is not a single river, but a system of thousands of tributaries. Similarly, the implementation of the conference's decisions must be based on multiple streams of international cooperation."

© UNFCCC/K. Worth

COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago greets Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the opening of the conference in Belém.

No country can cope alone

Still warned that no national plan can solve the problem on its own. Economic losses from climate disasters could reach double digits. "Inaction is neither economically nor politically justifiable," he emphasized. "It is inexcusable that extreme weather continues to claim lives when effective solutions already exist."

Among the priorities for COP30, he named the transition away from fossil fuels, tripling renewable energy capacity, doubling energy efficiency, mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries, approving global adaptation indicators, and advancing programs for a just transition to clean energy.

Conference of Truth

President Lula declared that "climate change is not a threat of the future, but a tragedy of the present." He called COP30 a "truth conference" and emphasized that denial and procrastination are no longer acceptable. "We are moving in the right direction, but at the wrong speed," he said. "Exceeding the 1.5-degree threshold is a risk we cannot take."

He sharply condemned climate change denial, noting that those behind it "reject not only science but also the progress of multilateral diplomacy." He stated that without the Paris Agreement, the world would be heading toward catastrophic warming of nearly five degrees by the end of the century.

The path to fossil fuel phasing out

Lula called on world leaders to make ambitious commitments and integrate climate change adaptation into national strategies. He proposed a "roadmap for humanity" to overcome dependence on fossil fuels, restore forests, and mobilize the necessary resources. He also announced the creation of a new fund to support the energy transition in developing countries, financed by oil revenues.

At the leaders' summit on November 6-7 in Belem, managed to mobilize $5.5 billion for an initiative aimed at supporting countries protecting their forestsOther collective commitments include recognizing indigenous land rights, quadrupling clean fuel production, and linking climate action to the fight against hunger, poverty, and "environmental racism."

Lula said holding COP30 in the heart of the Amazon is a "challenging but necessary task" that will give the world a chance to see the reality of the most biodiverse region on the planet, home to more than 50 million people and 400 indigenous peoples.

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November 10, 2025 UN

The main news of the day in the UN and around the world: open debate in the Security Council on small arms, power, heating, and water outages in Ukrainian cities, a worsening crisis in Sudan, the opening of the UN Climate Conference in Brazil.

Illegal arms flows

More than a billion firearms are circulating globally, UN Deputy High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Adedeji Eboh stated during an open debate in the Security Council on Monday. According to Eboh, the growth of illicit arms production, including the proliferation of 3D-printed weapons, is particularly alarming, particularly in Western Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In Haiti, criminal groups are expanding their control over territory, using smuggled weapons to undermine state authority. Illicit arms flows in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes region are turning local conflicts into cross-border conflicts.

Power outages in major Ukrainian cities

Last weekend, large-scale attacks and fighting resulted in civilian casualties and disrupted essential services across Ukraine, Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq reported, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Major cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa, are experiencing severe power outages, with electricity available for only a few hours a day. Kharkiv continues to experience heating and water outages, and public transportation has been partially suspended.

Escalating violence in Sudan

The crisis in North Darfur State, Sudan, is worsening. Following the capture of the state capital, El Fasher, by the Rapid Intervention Forces, clashes continue to be reported on key access roads to the city, trapping civilians and disrupting humanitarian aid deliveries. Meanwhile, violence in the Kordofan region is escalating, leading to rising civilian casualties and new waves of displacement. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed an attack on a hospital in South Kordofan State, resulting in deaths and injuries. Since April 2023, nearly 200 attacks on health facilities have occurred in Sudan.

Opening of the UN Climate Conference

On Monday, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) began in Belém, Brazil. At the opening of the summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for more aggressive measures to reduce emissions. Simon Still, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), called for united action to combat the climate crisis. Dozens of countries announced new climate pledges, bringing the total number of countries with emission reduction commitments to 113. Together, they account for nearly 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

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